New Found Love
by Liv Cassidy
Summary: Being alone can be tough, especially when it seems like everyone else around you is in a relationship of some sort. It's a "Dead Night" at the 16th precinct, and Rollins's plans of sitting home and watching Grey's Anatomy are changed when Olivia and Brian set her up on a blind date with Brian's brother. Will they hit it off?
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1 _

We have all been told that love comes when we least expect it. Being alone can be tough, especially when it seems like everyone else around you is in a relationship of some sort. There's nothing lonelier than listening to your co-workers talk about their boyfriends and children. They talk about their evening plans with their families, and there you are, thinking about how you're going to spend your evening on the couch, eating popcorn, and watching Grey's Anatomy. That's the single life for you. So, they say, "Love comes when you least expect it," but you're not going to meet your soul mate sitting at home.

It only seems to get tougher as you get older, especially when you work long hours. Then, it begins to feel like "all the good guys are taken." Apparently, that's why online dating was invented: to bring people together who wouldn't otherwise meet in the real world. There are, of course, numerous flaws with online dating. For one, you do not know who you're really talking to. People lie. Of course, there's always that risk when you meet someone in a bar. The only difference is you know what the person looks like right off the back when you meet them in a bar. Everything else is up in the air, though. Neither is truly less risky than the other.

Detective Amanda Rollins had exercised all of her options to meet men, with the hope of finding "the one" she could call her "soul mate." Now she was thirty-something and still single, and most of the time she was just fine with that. She had no problem going home alone each night while everyone else she worked with went home to their families. Everyone, that was, except her captain, whose wife had passed away several years ago.

She was the only person on the team who knew about Fin's relationship with Melinda. They had chosen to keep their relationship as discreet as possible, and Amanda had actually found out by accident. She had stopped by Fin's apartment to discuss a case, where a shirtless Fin answered the door. Behind him was a half-naked Melinda. They were both very drunk. The next day, Fin had asked her not to say anything to anyone.

Nick was divorced, but Amanda knew that he spent a lot of time with Cynthia and Gil. He also had Zara every other weekend. Amanda could tell that he was torn over his divorce with Maria, but he wasn't alone. He at least had two wonderful children.

Olivia now had Brian. It was Olivia who gave Amanda hope that her own prince charming would one day come along. From her understanding, Olivia had spent the majority of her career single. Amanda didn't know a person more dedicated to her job than Olivia. For most of her adult life, Olivia Benson had been married to her job. Essentially, Amanda saw Olivia as an idol. She was the woman Amanda could only dream of becoming. Before transferring to SVU, Amanda had spent time reading up on Olivia's cases. She remembered being flabbergasted. Olivia Benson was definitely a strong woman; a woman Amanda felt she could only dream of becoming.

Detective Olivia Benson was probably one of the most private persons Amanda Rollins knew. She didn't talk about her personal life at work, ever, unless prompted by a co-worker. Even then, she would beat around the bush. She was always vague whenever Amanda asked her about Brian, and she frequently denied the seriousness of their relationship. Amanda could remember a time when she had made a comment about Olivia and Brian getting serious. Olivia's response? "It's not like we're picking out china patterns, but it's a nice fit."

Amanda could somewhat see where Olivia was coming from, though. She'd obviously been hurt in the past. Amanda made sure never to ask about her past relationships, but she knew what it was like to be leery about the whole serious relationship thing. She also knew what it was like to be single for so long that it was easy to forget what it even felt like to be with someone. And in the 21st Century, the term "relationship" has become so loosely defined. People jump from relationship to relationship at the drop of a hat. What is love, anyway? Does it even exist today? Or, do people jump into relationship to avoid their fear of being alone.

The idea of being with someone to avoid being alone had always disturbed Amanda. It was wrong, in her opinion, to be in a relationship with someone you couldn't say "I love you" to and not mean it. What was the point? It wouldn't be fair to either parties.

Thus, Amanda stayed single, waiting for that one special person who would sweep her off her feet. The one person she would be able to say those three words to without lying. The man she could call her _McDreamy_. Sometimes she wondered if the day would ever come. If it didn't, at least she had nine seasons of Grey's Anatomy reruns on Netflix to watch each night.

There were generally two types of nights at Manhattan's 16th precinct. The first type, "The Sleepless Night," the nights Amanda lived for, were the nights the detectives did not go home. They were the ones you were working tirelessly to find your perp. Those were the nights, maybe if you were lucky, you could catch a 30 minutes nap in The Crib. These were the nights your average detective who had someone to go home to at night dreaded. They meant Nick wouldn't see his kids that night, Fin wouldn't see Melinda, and Olivia wouldn't see Brian. The only time Amanda didn't look forward to The Sleepless Night was on Thursday, because that meant she would miss the newest episode of Grey's Anatomy.

The second type: the "Dead Night," as Amanda liked to call them. All their cases had reached a dead end, and they'd exercised all of their detective skills. The kidnapping cases had gone cold. The serial killer had vanished off the radar. These were the nights Amanda hated. Tonight was a Dead Night.

Amanda always could smell a Dead Night coming on. Of course, she'd been taken aback a few times. After all, in her line of work, a Dead Night could turn into a Sleepless Night in the matter of a blink of an eye. When she could feel a Dead Night coming on, and it wasn't Thursday, Amanda always found herself recklessly tearing through all the details of her cases. She would pine through each individual case, looking for something she might have missed before. While she was doing this, more often than not, all of her co-workers were on their phones. Tonight was no different. As she was reading through a double rape-homicide case for the fourth time in the last hour, she could see her partner looking at his cell phone. He was not the only one whose mind was far away from the job. Olivia was also looking at her phone, and Nick had left his desk in the middle of a hostile phone call with his ex-wife. He'd been arguing with Maria over his visits with Zara again.

Amanda seemed to be the only detective in the precinct whose cell phone was still tucked away tightly in her pocket. On top of that, her phone was on silent. Any and every person whose phone calls were relevant to her were at the precinct. If someone else wanted to get ahold of her, they could wait until she was off work. Though, it had become apparent a long time ago that if someone else did happen to call her, they were likely to be only trouble. Her estranged sister, who'd cleaned her out good, and her ex-gambling buddies had proven that to be the truth. Truth be told, she couldn't think of anyone else who would want to call her.

"Okay, everyone. Let's call it a night. Go home," the words Amanda had been dreading exited. her captain's mouth as he stood in front of his detectives. He was already wearing his coat. Amanda noted the deep wrinkles and wide dark circles around Captain Donald Cragen's eyes. She could sense the tiredness in his face. What that her future? Amanda often dreamt about becoming a captain one day. She knew that it was a dog eat dog world, and if she tried hard enough then anything a possibility. Though, sometimes, she wasn't sure if that's what she wanted. Captain Cragen had been captain at the 16th precinct for over 15 years now. Though, Amanda was aware that SVU wasn't even Cragen's first captain assignment. Twenty-three years ago, he'd started as a Homicide captain. His years of service were remarkable in police years. Amanda wondered if she had it in her to become as dedicated as her captain. She was merely a third grade detective now.

Everyone around her immediately grabbed their jackets, ready to make a run to the outside world before something happened that would force them to stay. Amanda, however, continued to stare at her computer screen.

"C'mon, Amanda, didn't ya hear the captain? Go home," her partner nudged her shoulder. "Stop lookin' for a reason to keep us here."

"Well, not everyone has someone to go home to," Amanda shot at Fin. Nick and Olivia turned their heads toward Fin and Amanda, and Fin gave Amanda "the look."

"Fin, I didn't know you were seeing someone," Olivia insisted.

"I'm not," Fin was quick to reply. Amanda coughed. "Okay, I've been seeing someone for a little while now, since Missy here can't keep a secret."

"Awwww," Olivia cooed with a wide smile on her face. "Is it anyone we know?"

"I don't ask about your personal life," Fin shot back. "How is Brian, by the way?"

"Brian is, well, Brian," Olivia said, and then she turned to Amanda. "Hey, Amanda, you don't have plans tonight, do you?"

"Of course everyone is so quick to assume that the single girl is plan-less!" Amanda cried, rolling her eyes.

"Uh, no, I just heard you say something about not having anyone to come home to," Olivia noted, looking down at her phone. Amanda let out a sigh. "Anyway, I was asking because Brian was wondering if you'd want to go on a double date with us."

"A double date?" Amanda laughed. "Well, that sounds great and all, but I kinda need a date for it to be classified as a _double date_. I'm not a fan of being the third-wheel."

"That's actually why we were asking. Brian's brother wants to go to dinner with us tonight, and we thought it would be a little awkward for him to be there with just us, so Brian thought it would be nice if we invited you along...that way he wouldn't be a third-wheel."

"Brian has a brother?" Amanda asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yeah, he's actually a really nice guy. He's also an NYPD detective. I think you'll get along great," said Olivia. "So, what do you say, Rollins? Is it a double date?"

Amanda sighed. She had no good excuse to say no. "I guess it is, then," she replied.

"Great, meet us at Brian's and my place at eight and we'll all carpool to the restaurant," Olivia grinned, then added, "Gosh, it's so weird saying _Brian's and my place_. I haven't had a roommate since college."

The detectives shared a laugh before they parted.

* * *

Amanda found herself back at her apartment, digging through her closet. What the hell was she thinking? She had just allowed Olivia and Brian to set her up on a blind date! She hated blind dates. She hadn't even seen a picture of this guy. He was Brian's brother, so he must look like Brian - right? Brian definitely wasn't a bad looking guy. Then again, siblings didn't always look alike. He could be like a black sheep. The family outcast. _He's also an NYPD detective_. So, he couldn't be too bad. Perhaps they'd already met. Why hadn't she asked Olivia his name? Amanda would have remembered if she'd met another detective with the last name "Cassidy," though. Maybe they didn't have the same last name. After all, siblings didn't always have the same last name. They could have different fathers, or different mothers. Who knew.

Her stomach tied in knots as she put on her third dress that night. It was a silky black dress that went down to right above her knees. She shook herself as she looked at herself in the mirror, then she ripped the dress off. She couldn't wear black; the last thing she wanted was to look like she was going to a funeral. Gosh, it had been so long since she'd been on a date, that she couldn't remember people wore on dates.

She then saw a sparkly purple dress in the back of her closet. Truth be told, she could not remember wearing. Hell, she barely remembered buying it. She took the dress off its hanger and put it on. Amanda looked at herself in the mirror, then looked at the clock on the wall. It was seven-thirty. The dress would have to do. She looked at her shoe wrack and widened her mouth. There wasn't enough time to try on all twenty pairs of high heels with the dress. She grabbed the purple high heeled sandals, which matched the color of the dress, and put them on. Amanda took one last look at herself in the mirror and sighed. She looked okay, not amazing, but she didn't want to waste too much time looking spectacular for a blind date. Who knew, Brian's brother could be a real freak.

She'd already called a cab, which was waiting for her when she walked outside. The cab ride over to Olivia and Brian's apartment was nerve-racking. Amanda's head throbbed, and her mouth had dried out. She was dying for a glass of water. She didn't know why she had herself all nerved up. It was just a blind date. Brian and Olivia had only asked her to come along so Brian's brother didn't feel like a complete outcast while out in public with a couple, and Amanda had only agreed to come because she knew exactly what it felt like to be a third-wheel. The third-wheel: Someone no one wants to be. She was doing this guy a favor. It's not like he was going to turn out to be her soul mate or anything.

The cab dropped her off in front of Olivia and Brian's apartment. Amanda found herself anxiously making her way to the apartment. She had only been there once before, at a dinner party Brian and Olivia had hosted for the entire squad to show off their new apartment. She finally arrived at the door and knocked gently on it.

A moment later, the door opened.

"Way to keep us waiting, Rollins. I feel like that Brad Paisley song… _Waitin' on a Woman_."

Amanda's eyes widened as she looked at the man who stood in front of her. She _did _know him.

"Doom? You're Brian's brother?"

* * *

**A/N: I'm trying something new here, so let me know what you think. In case you don't know who "Doom" is, he's a Narcotics detective played by Dean Winters's real life brother, Scott William Winters. Warren has said that Doom bears no relationship to Brian, but I have chosen to ignore that because, well, I can. **


	2. Chapter 2

An uncomfortable silence bewildered throughout the car as the group traveled to the restaurant. Brian was driving Olivia's car, and he and Olivia sat in the front, leaving Amanda and Doom in the backseat of the car. The car was stuffy, and Amanda suddenly found herself very warm. She could sense her cheeks flushing red, as her blood boiled throughout her body. She hoped Doom didn't notice.

She curled her teeth over her lower lip and observed Doom. How had she been unaware for all this time that Brian and Doom were brothers? She'd first met Doom last year when they were working the case of a missing Gypsy boy. Fin had explained to her that he and Doom went way back to when Fin worked Narcotics, which would be nearly fourteen years ago now. That meant Doom had been with Narcotics for quite some time now.

Amanda crossed her arms together and looked out the car window, watching as other cars passed by. Life in the city was never dark, which was part of the reason Amanda considered herself a full city girl. She hated the dark. Becoming a detective had made her hate the dark even more. Even at her age, she slept with a night light on. When she was a kid, she used to watch _Are You Afraid of the Dark? _on Nickelodeon. She had been eleven when the show premiered. The show never ceased to give her nightmares. Even though she was old enough now to know monsters weren't real, something about the dark always gave her an eerie feeling.

Last fall, when Hurricane Sandy hit, she had been without power in her apartment for several days. The days in the dark nearly killed her.

"It's killing me!" cried Olivia from the passenger's seat.

"What's killing you?" asked Brian, gently placing his right arm on Olivia's shoulder, while steering the car with his left hand. His eyes remained on the road.

"The silence. You people are too quiet. Someone talk...about something…anything!" Olivia cried, and then she chuckled lightly. This was a side of Olivia Benson that Amanda wasn't used to seeing. At work, she was so focused on her cases. They rarely held side conversations; and when Amanda tried to talk her about her personal life, Olivia was quick to change the subject. Truth be told, Amanda didn't know what to talk about.

"Ugh, well," started Doom. "We busted a frat house for marijuana today."

Olivia scoffed. "Can we not talk about work? It's our night off; work is the last thing on my mind."

"You okay, Liv? I gotta say, that sounds a little weird coming from the woman who's married to her job." Amanda could see Brian's grin through the rear-view mirror as he parked the car.

"Was married to her job," Olivia corrected. "Now, I have you, and happiness that I didn't know could exist outside of my job. Times have changed, Bri."

Brian and Amanda both burst into laughter. "Okay, whatever you say, Liv," Brian teased, patting Olivia's shoulder.

"They have! I don't see what's so funny about me having more to live for than my job!" Olivia insisted, then added, "Cassidy, you ass." She teasingly punched him in the shoulder, and then Brian took the keys out of the ignition and opened the door. He stepped out of the car, and walked over to Olivia's side of the car and opened the door for her.

"At least I'm a hot piece of ass," Brian smiled, gazing flirtatiously into Olivia's eyes.

"Okay, enough of you two already!" Doom cried, opening his door. "How about you two just go get a hotel room already?"

"Joe, this is the reason we brought Amanda," Olivia giggled, "so you wouldn't feel out of place."

Doom nudged Amanda, whispering in her ear, "Wanna just ditch these two and go do our own thing?"

Amanda laughed. "Nah, I wouldn't want to be rude."

"I doubt they'd mind," Doom muttered with a scoff. Olivia had made it sound like it Doom's idea to go out to dinner with them, so she didn't know why he was acting like he didn't want to be there. Something seemed off to her.

The four entered the restaurant, which Brian and Olivia had already made reservations. It was a nice restaurant, though not too upscale. Amanda had never been to it before, though she noticed it was fairly busy, so the food must not be too awful.

They were guided to their table by the hostess, and they ordered their drinks. Their drinks came quickly. Amanda found her eyes wandering around the restaurant, avoiding eye contact with Doom. Though, she could feel his eyes on her. He stomach twisted and turned with butterflies.

When her eyes came back to the table, she looked at Olivia and Brian, who were holding hands and whispering indistinctly to each other. She saw Doom in the corner of her eye; he appeared to be twiddling with his thumbs. Was he as nervous as he appeared? She grabbed her menu, and began scanning the items. The chicken fettuccine looked delicious.

"So, Amanda, I have to ask," Olivia started, grabbing Amanda's attention from her menu.

"Huh?" Amanda asked, taking a sip of her water.

"What's going on with Fin? Who's Fin banging? You know something, don't you?" Olivia winked.

Amanda gasped, water still in her mouth, and began to choke. She coughed repeatedly.

"Oh, my! Are you okay?!" Olivia asked worriedly.

"Fine, yeah, I'm fine. Uh, I don't know what you're talking about, Liv," Amanda said, catching her breath. Her throat was scratch. She coughed again then took another sip of water. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. "I'm fine," she insisted. "Just a little water down the wrong pipe. It's not going to kill me."

"Actually, a teaspoon of water in your lung can kill you," noted Brian. Everyone froze, staring at Brian, who then added, "Uh, I read it on WebMD." Olivia burst into laughter, then she kissed Brian's hand. Doom merely shook his head then stared at Amanda, who shrugged.

"Awkward, huh?" he mouthed to Amanda. Amanda sighed. At least Olivia was happy. This was a side to Olivia that Amanda had never seen. They hardly spent time together outside of work. Amanda had never seen her so happy. Of course, happiness was a good thing. She was happy for Olivia; she'd found someone who made her laugh. Amanda longed to find that person who could make her laugh for the most pointless reasons.

She looked back and forth between Doom and Brian. Their resemblance was uncanny. She didn't know how she hadn't put two and two together sooner. She'd only worked with Doom a few times, though she knew that he was good friends with Fin. They'd worked together over a decade ago.

"Don't take another sip of water, Amanda, but are you _sure _you don't know some juicy details? I promise I won't say anything. What's said tonight stays between us, okay?" Olivia smiled warmly, taking sip of her wine.

Amanda had never pegged Olivia as a gossiper, so she really didn't know how to react. She quickly glanced at Doom, wondering how close he and Fin really were; and if there was a chance that he knew about Fin and Melinda, also.

"Hey, if Fin wanted you to know who he was seeing, he would tell you himself," Doom insisted. "No need to pressure Amanda into telling you."

"I'm not pressuring her," Olivia replied abruptly. "I was just asking if he knew, but thanks for your feedback, Doom, even though I wasn't asking for it."

"No need to have an attitude, either," Doom murmured, then turned to his brother. "You really should control your girlfriend."

"Oh, I control her all right," Brian smirked, raising his eyebrows at Olivia. She giggled.

"Okay, guys, this is getting kind of weird," Amanda commented. She waved a waiter over to their table. "Can we order our food? I'm ready. I'll have the chicken fettucine."

"I'll have the same," said Doom.

"Yeah, I'm going to have the New England-Styled Lobster," said Olivia, setting down her menu.

The waiter then looked at Brian. "Uh, I'll just have a cheeseburger. Medium well," Brian said. "Oh, and no rabbit food, please. Leave that garbage for the rodents. I'll just have a plain burger."

The waiter was scribbling quickly. "Pickles?"

"No pickles," Brian replied roughly.

"Gotcha. I'll put your order in right away," the waiter told the group.

Doom was giving his brother the stink eye. "Really, man? You go out to eat and order a _cheeseburger_? What are you, five?"

"He can order whatever he wants," Olivia defended her man. "You don't see us attacking you for being unoriginal and ordering the same meal as your date."

"Whoa whoa, I'm not his date!" Amanda interrupted. "I'm just here so he's not a third-wheel, I thought."

"Which makes you his date," Olivia pointed out.

Doom slammed his glass down. "I, uh, I'll be right back. Um, bathroom break." Doom left the table, leaving Amanda alone with Olivia and Brian.

"What's his problem?" Amanda asked. "He acts like he doesn't want to be here."

"You don't look much happier to be here yourself," Olivia replied. "You know, if you didn't want to come, you could have just said so. You won't even look at him."

"Doom? What do you mean? I thought…" Amanda trailed off, and then she stopped. It hit her. "This was a setup, wasn't it? Doom didn't just want to go out to dinner with you guys, did he?"

Brian and Olivia looked at each other, and Brian sighed. "He's been obsessed with you for a while now, ever since you guys worked that missing Gypsy kid case together. He even had me give him your number, but the idiot was too shy to call you himself. So, Liv thought it would be fun for us to set us a double date, that way you two could get acquainted without the awkwardness."

"Which obviously just created more awkwardness," Olivia added. "I'm sorry, Amanda. I should have filled you in, but he asked me not to."

"No, no, it's fine," Amanda mumbled. "I'm the idiot. Now I just feel like a bitch."

"You're not a bitch," Olivia assured her.

"No, you're just a woman," laughed Brian, nudging Olivia. "It took Liv fourteen years to realize I was the one, so you know, maybe you could give him a chance?"

"Yeah, don't make the same mistake I did," Olivia said quietly, then kissed Brian on the cheek.

"He's a nice guy, just a little socially awkward. I guess it runs in the family," Brian assured Amanda. A moment later, Doom returned to the table, abruptly taking a seat, and declining to make eye contact with anyone at the table. Then, their waiter arrived with the food.

"Chicken fettuccine," the waiter said, placing her plate in front of her. Then, he handed out the food to the rest of the table.

"The chicken fettuccine looks scrumptious," Amanda smiled, then looked toward Doom. "Doesn't it, Doom?"

"Yeah. Scrumptious," he murmured. He took his fork and dug into a piece of his chicken, taking a bite. Amanda released a sigh, exchanging looks with Brian and Olivia.

Her stomach gurgled, and she slowly began to eat her food. She knew there was no way she was going to be able to eat the whole plate of food.

"So, uh, how's everybody's food?" Amanda asked, trying to make conversation.

"The lobster is extraordinary," Olivia said, with a bite of food in her mouth.

"Best burger in town," Brian said, delving his teeth into the cheeseburger.

"Doom?" Amanda asked, gently nudging Doom's shoulder.

"Eh," he shrugged.

A cell phone's ring sounded. Amanda patted her pocket. It wasn't hers. She looked around the table and saw everyone else checking their phones.

"It's me," Brian said, looking at his phone. "Shit." He took his phone and left the table. Three minutes later, he returned. The worried expression on his face indicated something was wrong.

"Bri, who was it? Did you get called in?" asked Olivia, setting her fork down.

He shook his head, then turned to his brother. "It's Ma," Brian whispered. "That was her LifeAlert system. She fell and has been admitted to Mercy General. We have to go now."

"Oh no, Bri! I'm coming with you," Olivia insisted, grabbing her coat. Her plate was nearly finished. Olivia turned to Amanda. "You don't have to come if you don't want to, Amanda."

"I have nothing else to do. I might as well come along, too," Amanda insisted, reaching for her coat. Amanda had never personally met Mrs. Cassidy, but she felt like it was the right thing to do at this time. She suddenly felt obligated to make things right with Doom. Amanda looked at Doom. His face was pale. She didn't know how she was going to make things right with him. He seemed like an okay guy, but she wasn't sure that he was her type. Then again, what was her type? It had been so long since she had been on a date that she wasn't sure anymore.

She then looked at Brian and Olivia. They were in love. They had what so many people dreamt of having, and it'd taken Olivia fourteen years to realize that Brian was the one for her.

She'd only finished half her plate. She hated to waste all the food. She motioned for their waiter. "Can I get a to-go box? And we need a rush on the check!"


End file.
